I started CAD several months ago, and lost 15lbs during my first month on the plan. At that point I decided (and rightly so) that I was out of control at my RM, and that the plan would not work in the long run unless I could learn to control my eating. At that point I switched to Atkins.

As I have said here before, Akins really helped me to learn how to eat, and rid me of my bad habits and cravings. But the weight loss was a different story. I lost 6 pounds during my first 3 weeks,but after that,nothing for over 2 months. Then, I slowly began to gain...3 of my hard lost pounds. I started wondering if I ever really lost anything on Atkins at all. I expected plateaus and slow weight loss, but not endless weeks with no weight loss and a slow gain. I did feel a lot better and had learned a new and better WOL, but I was still overweight.

I decided to go back on CAD, and as before it is working for me, only this time much better. There are no cravings now, and I am happy eating a balanced reward meal that takes 15-20 minutes. I even have a desert without becoming tired later in the day.

In the last 2 weeks I have managed to lose the weight I gained back plus another pound, and the scale is back on a downward trend for the first time in months. I have learned something at every stage of the journey that will help me to be successful at maintaining my loss, and I am glad to be back on the program I can live with once I do get to goal.
Just had to share.

Smudgie
Congratulations!!! Sometimes the battle to control insulin is hard won!!! That's when the lessons learned along the way are most appreciated. You have learned a lot about yourself and your own unique body chemistry. You have also learned what you have to do to control insulin at CMs to have weight loss!!!

Congratulations again!!!

A round of applause for smudgie. Great job not giving up. I stayed at the same weight for 3 weeks my first month back on CAD so I can relate.

Thanks or the support, guys!

And, Zule, reading your posts helped me a lot when I was trying to get back on the plan and avoid previously made mistakes.

Hi Gowe,

My reward meals are nothing special. It's just that unlike before I use fresh foods, mosty prepared ahead. I keep it simple, like home made chicken soup(made with carrotts, celery, onions, and pasta) and a wholemeal roll, or chicken and eggplant parmesean. Sometimes I just have a chicken wrap made with a soft tortilla, chopped chicken, cucumber,and fresh mint, sour cream and shredded lettuce.

I have a half a grapefruit at RM instead of a salad, because I am never hungry enough to eat both, and wanted to add some fruit to my diet. For desert, I have a bowl of ice cream with chocolate syrup. It is a nice treat, and for me is not a trigger food like cakes, candy and chips are.
Hope this helps.

smudgie- there's hope for me yet

i had surgery a couple weeks ago....so i feel like i have had such a setback. i switched from atkins to cad right after the surgery. i am not back to my workouts but i am starting to walk and making the adjustment from atkins. once i come out of limbo i feel like it will start to work for me.

Hang in there anais. I--and I'm sure many others here-- know how difficult surgery is, and you should be commended for trying to stick to any plan, and for trying so hard to get your routine back. Once your body recovers things will begin to work a lot better for you.
I wish you a speedy recovery, and lots of luck with CAD.

Thanks for sharing your hard-won victory! Good for you on your CAD success... you're inspiring me to clean up my act and really get those RM's under control... I'm ashamed to even explain last night's...LOL... it was like a game show...how much can she shovel in before the clock runs out??

Anyhow, I do see that this really is quite a reasonable plan once you make it through the adjustment period. So far I have gained almost 5 pounds the first week... how did you all manage a loss??